After TKR, can I come home to two flights of stairs?

@steveinarizona
So what about being 80 and being on a Walker? Believe me, she won’t be dancing unless she has the Jiffy knee surgery!

If you need to do 2 flights of stairs only to get into your apartment I think you can manage, albeit slowly and carefully. Then you will likely need to stay in your level apartment a while and have in home therapy at least a month maybe 2 cause those stairs to go to outside therapy may delay it. I came home to an empty 2 story environment, I live alone and had no caregiver, less than 24 hours coming outta anesthesia. Believe me the next morning just going down to my first floor, making coffee and feeding my cat did me in. Doing stairs really is a detriment, but with some environments they cannot be avoided. I needed in home therapy 2 months as I did not feel capable driving with my surgery leg after just 1 month.
This week I am at 6 months post surgery and today I had my first bath since surgery. It took me this long testing and to determine I could exit the bath. What an exhilarating accomplishment. Showers never were my preference.
If your apartment is all on one floor getting to your front door seems to be the hardest part. Good luck to you.

@bgl9463
I have had both knees replaced and I was not allowed to go home til I did stairs. Up with good leg down with bad leg it works very well

Thanks for this reminder. I believe they will have me walk and do stairs before I leave the day of the surgery.

@bgl9463 If she is too weak to pull herself up and hold on safely going down she should not do the stairs.

It depends upon why she is using a walker. If it is because the surgeon told her to, that would be a different answer than she uses it because she will fall otherwise. For example, I felt no need to use a walker but my surgeon's standard recovery protocol was to use it during the first week so I mostly complied. I was also severely misaligned which had caused a nerve impingement. I could barely walk with a cane. Once I had the replacement my surgeon's Functional alignment fully fixed my problem and walking no longer was a problem.

I am 81 and active. Almost exactly one year ago I had my RTKR. I can now spend hours walking around the zoo with my grandkids with no cane and no walking sticks. I recently went with them to a trampoline facility and ran "races" with my three year old granddaughter on the bouncy floor.

I firmly believe that once you start acting like you are old, you start getting old. As an 81 YO I have had a new left hip and right knee. I have had cataract surgery. I am now going through a round of carpal tunnel surgery and had my non-dominant and worse hand done about five weeks ago. My biggest complaint is that I don't feel stable. I was discussing this with my neurologist and he told me about a PT shop in the area that specializes in balance and other neurological problems. He referred me to them and I just had my evaluation session. I was impressed. In the meantime I play golf three times a week and go walking in the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall for 2-3 miles on the non golf days.

My advice to younger adults is when your body, especially your joints, fail, fix them. My other advice is find the very best surgeon for each problem which I did except for my cataract surgeon whom I now regret (the practice was once a small one with a great ophthalmologist. It was bought out and turned into a factory.

My incredible hip/knee surgeon is a private practice surgeon in a singleton practice. My carpal tunnel surgeon is the Director of the Peripheral nerve clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. One can find the best surgeons in many places: Specialized medical clinics like the Mayo Clinic; Centers of excellence like the Hospital for Special Surgery; Academic centers like Harvard or Stanford. single practitioners. The trick is to separate the chaff to get to the wheat.

I wouldn't focus on the Jiffy Knee. Jiffy Knee is essentially a brand name version of a subvastus procedure. IMHO either subvastus or mid vastus (which is what my surgeon did) will work. Just find the best surgeon. If she is a Jiffy Knee surgeon, go for it. If she is not, still go for it. Don't get hung up on brand names.

Once she has the surgery, PT will be essential. Three times a week for at least a while.

I can't dance. But I couldn't dance before either. I have absolutely no rhythm and when I try I dance I do so like Elaine Benes.

Yay you! So glad you’re doing so well. You are so lucky to have a Mayo Clinic facility in AZ. My comment was based entirely in response as to whether she could expect to negotiate 2 flights of stairs the DAY of her “same day surgery”. I’ve never known anyone who could walk without an assisted device entirely on their own the first few days following TKR, much less climb 2 flights of stairs. Nor can I believe a surgeon or therapist would agree that that is prudent for obvious fall precautions.
My comment was to the person asking the question, and as a recent TKR “survivor” I am well aware that every patient responds differently.

@comeoutdancing The hospital PT had me go up and down 2 steps in a corner room they use. I managed that, and that was all they needed to ok my release. Believe me you are in for major pain and discomfort. Good you have a reliable caregiver. I had no one.
You will be given meds to control the extreme pain, and it is imperative you not lay in bed all the time. Walk around a lot when you get home to help your leg and also prevent blood clots.
I doubt you will be dancing any time soon. From my experience it takes many months to get back expected strength in that leg. My surgeon who is one of the most revered in this area told me up front it takes 6 months to a year to heal. I’m at 6 months and still missing the overall strength I had pre surgery. My 2 hip replacements were a piece of cake compared to TKR.

Thanks for your message. I will keep moving. I plan to take a couple of long airline trips in January. Will be working toward that and my first post surgery waltz!